Automated damage assessment and claims processing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods provide for an automated system for analyzing damage and processing claims associated with an insured item, such as a vehicle. An enhanced claims processing server may analyze damage associated with the insured item using cameras and lasers for determining the extent and severity of the damage. To aid in this determination, the server may also interface with various internal and external databases storing reference images of undamaged items and cost estimate information for repairing previously analyzed damages of similar items. Further still, the server may generate a payment for compensating a claimant for repair of the insured item.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pendingU.S. application Ser. No. 16/386,900, filed Apr. 17, 2019, and entitled“Automated Damage Estimate and Claims Processing,” which is acontinuation of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.13/728,539, filed Dec. 27, 2012 and entitled “Automated DamageAssessment and Claims Processing,” all of which are incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to systems and methods for analyzingdamage to an insured item such as a vehicle and processing an insuranceclaim related to the analyzed damage.

BACKGROUND

Conventional insurance claims processing is a complex process thatstarts with a first notification of loss related to an insured item.Upon notification of loss, the claim may be routed to multiple claimsadjusters that analyze different aspects of the damage associated withthe insured item in order to determine whether compensation for the lossis appropriate.

In general, conventional claims adjustment can involve paperworkprocessing, telephone calls, and potentially face-to-face meetingsbetween claimant and adjuster. In addition, a significant amount of timecan elapse between a first notice of loss from the claimant and thefinal settlement of the claim.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention.This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merelypresents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description provided below.

Aspects of the disclosure involve a streamlined and efficient processfor claims management and disclose methods, computer-readable media, andapparatuses for automating the processing and settling of claims relatedto an insured item. An enhanced claims processing server may manage theanalysis of damage associated with an insured item and the settlement ofa claim related to the damage.

In another aspect of the disclosure, an enhanced claims processingserver may interface with a variety of sensors for assessing damage toinsured items.

Further aspects of the disclosure may be provided in a computer-readablemedium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed,cause a computer, user terminal, or other apparatus to at least performone or more of the processes described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

All descriptions are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intendedto restrict the invention, as claimed. The accompanying drawings, whichare incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification,illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with thedescription, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 shows a first block diagram of workstations and servers that maybe used to implement the processes and functions of certain aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for an automated process in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example using an enhanced claimsprocessing server, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, methods,computer-readable media, and apparatuses are disclosed in whichinsurance claims may be settled through an enhanced automated process.In certain aspects, an enhanced claims processing server manages theassessment of damage and the settlement of a claim associated with aninsured item such as a vehicle.

The automated process may utilize various hardware components (e.g.,processors, communication servers, memory devices, sensors, etc.) andrelated computer algorithms to examine the loss associated with aninsured item after a claim has been filed and to determine if a paymentis appropriate to the claimant as compensation for the assessed loss.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an enhanced claims processingserver 101 (e.g., a computer server) in communication system 100 thatmay be used according to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure.The server 101 may have a processor 103 for controlling overalloperation of the enhanced claims processing server 101 and itsassociated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, input/output module109, and memory 115.

I/O 109 may include a microphone, keypad, mouse, touch screen, and/orstylus through which a user of enhanced claims processing server 101 mayprovide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker forproviding audio output and a video display device for providing textual,audiovisual, and/or graphical output. Software may be stored withinmemory 115 to provide instructions to processor 103 for enabling device101 to perform various functions. For example, memory 115 may storesoftware used by the device 101, such as an operating system 117,application programs 119, and an associated database 121. Processor 103and its associated components may allow the device 101 to run a seriesof computer-readable instructions to analyze the depth of damageassociated with the body of a vehicle by interfacing with lasers. Inaddition, processor 103 may determine the general location of damageassociated with the vehicle by analyzing images of the vehicle andcomparing these images with reference images of a similar vehicle withno damage.

The server 101 may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141 and151. The terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers or servers thatinclude many or all of the elements described above relative to theserver 101. Also, terminal 141 and/or 151 may be data stores for storingimage data of insured items that have been analyzed by the enhancedclaims processing server 101 in the past. In yet other embodiments,terminals 141 and 151 may represent devices such as cameras and/orlasers for analyzing damage associated with an insured item.

The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network(LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, but may also include othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, the server 101 isconnected to the LAN 125 through a network interface or adapter 123.When used in a WAN networking environment, the server 101 may include amodem 127 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN129, such as the Internet 131. It will be appreciated that the networkconnections shown are illustrative and other means of establishing acommunications link between the computers may be used. The existence ofany of various well-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTPand the like is presumed.

Additionally, an application program 119 used by the enhanced claimsprocessing server 101 according to an illustrative embodiment of thedisclosure may include computer executable instructions for invokingfunctionality related to calculating an appropriate payment for assesseddamage associated with an insured item.

Enhanced claims processing server 101 and/or terminals 141 or 151 mayalso be mobile terminals including various other components, such as abattery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).

The disclosure is operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the disclosure include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and distributed computingenvironments that include any of the above systems or devices, and thelike.

The disclosure may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Thedisclosure may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including non-transitory memory storage devices,such as a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), and read only memory(ROM).

Referring to FIG. 2, a first system 200 for implementing methodsaccording to the present disclosure is shown. As illustrated, system 200may include one or more workstations/servers 201. Workstations 201 maybe local or remote, and are connected by one or more communicationslinks 202 to computer network 203 that is linked via communicationslinks 205 to enhanced claims processing server 101. In certainembodiments, workstations 201 may run different algorithms used byserver 101 for analyzing image data of damage associated with an insureditem, or, in other embodiments, workstations 201 may be data stores forstoring reference image data of insured items. In yet other embodiments,workstations 201 may represent various devices (e.g., cameras, lasers,etc.) for analyzing the damage associated with an insured item. Insystem 200, enhanced claims processing server 101 may be any suitableserver, processor, computer, or data processing device, or combinationof the same.

Computer network 203 may be any suitable computer network including theInternet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), a local-area network(LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, aframe relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, avirtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same.Communications links 202 and 205 may be any communications linkssuitable for communicating between workstations 201 and server 101, suchas network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, etc.

The steps that follow in the Figures may be implemented by one or moreof the components in FIGS. 1 and 2 and/or other components, includingother computing devices.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, an enhanced claimsprocessing server 101 may receive information about damage associatedwith an insured item (e.g., a vehicle). Server 101 may then process thisinformation to generate output, including a cost estimate to repair thedamage associated with the insured item and/or to replace a damaged partof the insured item. In some aspects, server 101 may determine thelocation of damage (e.g., exterior parts, etc.), extent of damage, andthe cost of parts/labor to fix the damage.

In some instances, depending on the amount of damage to the insureditem, the cost estimate may represent the cost of replacing the insureditem itself. Along with the cost estimate for repair/replacement of theinsured item, server 101 may also output various claims documents,including disclosures, brochures, guarantees, etc. If appropriate,server 101 may transmit a payment to the claimant, for the cost ofrepairing the damage or replacing a part. In addition, server 101 mayinform the claimant approximately how long it will take torepair/replace the insured item.

In some aspects, damage inspection and appraisal in the automated claimsprocessing scheme discussed herein may be completed in thirty minutes orless.

Although embodiments of the disclosure discussed herein relate to aninsured vehicle analyzed by enhanced claims processing server 101, oneof ordinary skill in the art would recognize that other types of insureditems, including homes, may be employed with a similar scheme.

In certain aspects, a claimant driving a damaged vehicle (e.g., car,boat, truck, etc.) may drive to a location that analyzes the damageassociated with the vehicle. Initially, the claimant may key in criticalcar information (e.g., vehicle identification number (VIN), make, model,year of manufacture, etc.) that is received by the enhanced claimsprocessing server 101 and wait in an attached waiting lounge while thevehicle is analyzed by various sensors associated with the enhancedclaims processing server 101. Once the damage analysis and assessment iscomplete, the claimant may drive away from the damage analysis centerwith claims documents, a repair/replacement cost estimate, a payment forassessed loss, and estimates for the time to repair/replace the vehicle.

In certain aspects, the process discussed herein may allow for moreflexibility and availability in appointment times associated withinspection and assessment of damage of insured items. In particular, theuse of server 101 may aid in cutting down time between a first notice ofloss and settlement of the claim associated with the loss (e.g., via apayment and/or information regarding repair/replacement of an insureditem). In addition, because the methods discussed herein are automatedand involve minimal and/or no involvement from claims adjusters, lesstime and money may be spent to transport these adjusters to inspectionlocations. The automated nature of this process may also create theopportunity for remote human inspections of damage associated withinsured items.

Also, the technologies used in the claims adjustment processesimplemented by server 101 may aid in attracting technology savvyconsumers to an entity (e.g., an insurance company) managing server 101.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for an automated process 300 in accordancewith at least one aspect of the present disclosure. Although process 300assumes that the insured item is a vehicle that has been damaged, one ofordinary skill in the art would recognize that the process may easilyapply to other types of insured items (e.g., a home). The process 300may start out at step 301 where an enhanced claims processing server 101may market the automated damage assessment and claims processing schemediscussed herein to engage potential consumers so that they are aware ofthe capabilities. Marketing step 301 may be accomplished in a variety ofways, including through traditional advertising, via email, asliterature included in bill inserts, etc.

Once the capabilities of enhanced claims processing server 101 areproperly marketed, the process may move to step 303 where a claimant(e.g., owner/operator of the vehicle, etc.) may contact an entitymanaging enhanced claims processing server 101 (e.g., an insurancecompany, etc.) with a first notice of loss (FNOL). The claimant maycontact the insurance company in any number of ways, including viaphone, by email, via a company website, etc. As part of the FNOL, theclaimant may provide basic identifying and/or validating information(e.g., name, age, claim number, etc.) and vehicle information, includingthe make, model, and year of manufacture. The claimant may also providethe general areas of damage to the vehicle and any other relevantdetails (e.g., condition of glass, under carriage, engine, wheels,airbags, etc. associated with the vehicle). In one embodiment, thisinformation may be provided through a kiosk located at a vehicle damageanalysis and claims processing facility managed by server 101. In otherembodiments, this information may be provided from a remote location(e.g., location of an accident, claimant's home, etc.)

The process may then move to step 305 where enhanced claims processingserver 101 may determine if the damaged vehicle can be properlyaccessed. For instance, server 101 may determine whether or not thedamaged vehicle can be driven to an automated damage analysis and/orclaims processing facility or whether or not server 101 is equipped toanalyze/assess the size and/or shape of the vehicle in question.However, in general, server 101 may be equipped to analyze/assess morethan one type (e.g., size, shape, etc.) of insured item. The server 101may also determine whether or not it is available to analyze, assess,and process damage associated with the vehicle in question.

If server 101 determines that the vehicle may be processed, the processmay move to step 307 where the claimant and the entity managing server101 may enter into an agreement that details the terms under whichserver 101 may analyze, assess, and process the damage related to thevehicle. For instance, the agreement may specify that server 101 mayonly provide a cost estimate for the assessed damage to the vehicle. Inother embodiments, the agreement may specify that server 101 may alsotransmit a payment (e.g., check, cash, etc.) for the assessed damage tothe claimant.

The process may then move to step 309 where server 101 may assess theextent of damage associated with the vehicle. The assessment may occurthrough the use of a variety of sensors and devices, including cameras,lasers, lights, etc. For instance, server 101 may direct cameras to takepictures of damaged areas associated with the vehicle. Server 101 mayalso use a controlled lighting environment for easier processing ofimages. Each camera may be remotely controlled by server 101 and eachimage may be transferred to a data storage (e.g., workstations 201,etc.) once acquired. In some embodiments, the cameras may take picturesof parts of the entire vehicle. Then server 101 may stitch the imagestogether to reproduce an image of the entire vehicle and to obtainbetter resolution of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the vehicle may bedivided into three portions and images from the three portions may bestitched together (e.g., via image processing software, etc.) toreproduce an image of the complete vehicle. Also, the cameras and thevehicle may be stationary or moving while the images are being taken.

Once damage to the vehicle has been localized via the image data, lasers(e.g., range finders, time-of-flight measurement lasers, etc.) may alsobe directed by servo and stepper motors to the damaged region and usedto detect and classify the depth of the damage. For instance, if thevehicle has been dented in a particular location, a laser may bedirected to the dented area and the interference of the laser with thedented surface may be used to map the depth of the dent and identify thetype/classification of the dent (e.g., wrinkled or ridged, turbulent ormulti-ridged, smooth-dish, scratches, etc.). In additional aspects, thetime that an electromagnetic wave emitted from the laser takes to bereflected from the surface of the damaged area and transmitted to apredetermined sensor may be determined and used to map the depth of thedent and identify the type/classification of the dent. To direct thelaser to the damaged area, server 101 may overlay a first grid on animage of the damaged area and a second grid on a corresponding referenceimage that depicts the same area undamaged. By comparing the gridnumbers on the image of the damaged area and the reference, the lasermay be moved precisely to the damaged area. Moreover, for obtaining thedepth of damage, the damaged area may be scanned by the lasers more thanonce and measurements from each scan may be averaged to obtain a moreaccurate depth reading. Server 101 may recognize that a smooth dent, forexample, has a gradual increase in depth and that wrinkled and turbulentdents do not exhibit this characteristic; in other examples, a smallvariation in depth within the damaged area may be recognized as ascratch. In yet other examples, a gradual change inwards may berecognized as a smooth dish dent whereas a gradual change outwardsaccompanied by the presence of nearby bent character lines (e.g., edges,etc.) may be recognized as a “pooched” or bubbled out dent. In otheraspects, a tear may be identified by a significant, sudden increase inthe depth of damage. The severity of a dent may further be classified bythe area impacted by the damage. In one embodiment, during the analysisof dents, server 101 may determine the deepest point in the dent andmove radially outwards. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat server 101 may implement numerous other classifications to identifythe type of damage associated with the vehicle. For instance, server 101may count the number of ridges in the dent and further classify the dentbased on this number. In addition, server 101 may determine the severityof the dent (e.g., turbulent dents may be rated as most severe whereassmooth dents may be rated as less severe).

In addition to imaging of the vehicle using cameras and lasers, server101 may detect fluid leaks from the vehicle and use this information todetermine which interior parts in the vehicle may be damaged.

During the imaging of the vehicle, the claimant may wait in a waitingarea associated with the damage analysis and claims processing facility(e.g., a facility that includes cameras, lasers, processors, etc.)managed by server 101. During the wait, server 101 may alert theclaimant at relevant points during the analysis process. For instance,server 101 may alert the claimant when server 101 has identifiedspecific damage associated with the vehicle. The identified damage maybe displayed to the claimant on a display screen associated with server101. Server 101 may also query the claimant as to the accuracy of theidentified damage. Server 101 may then receive a response from theclaimant regarding the accuracy of the identified damage.

In certain aspects, server 101 may also query the claimant with regardsto the type of third party service provider (e.g., repair shop, etc.)they would prefer after damage analysis and claims processing iscomplete.

In other aspects, exterior damage associated with the vehicle may beused to predict (e.g., via predictive modeling using the database ofpast assessed exterior/interior damage for other similar cases, etc.)the likelihood of interior (e.g., mechanical, cabin, etc.) damage to thevehicle and/or potential difficulties in repairing the vehicle.

Once the vehicle has been imaged with cameras and lasers, server 101 mayinclude computer-executable instructions to recognize the extent ofdamage to various parts of the vehicle (e.g., chassis, etc.), includingvarious types of dents and edge damage, and to identify various parts ofthe vehicle.

In some aspects, the detection of damage to the vehicle may be based onobject recognition algorithms that compare images (e.g., comparing x, y,and z coordinates of each point on the images) of the vehicle inquestion to reference images of similar vehicles (e.g., same model,make, year of manufacture, etc.) with no damage. More specifically,server 101 may access a database of images storing the reference imagesof vehicles of various models and makes. By using objectrecognition/edge detection algorithms (e.g., involving blur filters,gray-scaling, custom algorithms, etc.), server 101 may determine wheredamage is located as well as the potential size/area of the damage. Asmentioned above, lasers may be used to confirm the size of the damage.Server 101 may also access internal/external databases storing images,damage depth map information (e.g., from previously assessed laserscans, etc.), and/or processed claims reports from damaged vehicles thatthe server 101 has assessed previously. In particular, server 101 mayaccess images/depth map information from previously assessed damagedvehicles for use as a guidepost in assessing the damage of a newvehicle. If no reference information (e.g., data, images) exists, axissymmetry information may also be used to identify possibleirregularities and/or damage.

In some aspects, the algorithm employed by server 101 may use acomparison of an image of a damaged vehicle with an image of anundamaged version of the same vehicle to “subtract out” and isolate thedamaged area of a vehicle. If an exact replica of an undamaged vehiclecorresponding to a damaged vehicle under study is not available for thiscomparison, server 101 may further use various additional imageprocessing algorithms, including blurring filters, etc. to detect adamaged portion of a vehicle.

In additional aspects, server 101 may grayscale all image data to makeprocessing faster. Further, edge filters may be applied to both theimage of a damaged vehicle and its corresponding reference image so thatthe edges of a damaged area may be “subtracted out” and identified inthe image of the damaged vehicle. Once the damaged area has beenidentified in the image data, server 101 may further process the damagedarea to sharpen the area, to make the edges more prominent, and to fillany missing links found in the edges. Afterwards, server 101 may color,texture, and/or otherwise “fill in” the damaged area surrounded by theedges and extract the damaged area from the surrounding image. Once thedamaged area has been isolated, server 101 may calculate the precisearea of the damage.

Similarly, server 101 may coordinate various lasers to determine thedepth of a damaged area. Server 101 may analyze raw depth data obtainedfrom the lasers to further investigate points of interest (e.g., a pointthat has a much larger depth than surrounding points, etc.). Using thisanalysis, the damaged area may be further characterized (e.g., a dentedarea may be detected and if, for example, the general slope of the dentis high, the dent may be characterized as deep and rounded whereas ifthe slope is low, the dent may be characterized as shallow.)

In addition, if the server 101 retrieves image data or claims reportsassociated with a similar or the same previously analyzed vehicle thathas similar or the same types of damage (e.g., as a result of a similaraccident to a similar vehicle or part, etc.) as a vehicle currentlybeing analyzed, server 101 may use a damage analysis or cost estimate ofidentifying/repairing the damage or replacing a damaged part of thepreviously analyzed vehicle to generate a damage analysis/cost estimatefor the currently analyzed vehicle. In other words, server 101 mayperform one or more database queries to match characteristics of thecurrent analysis with previous analyses. For instance, the queries mayseek to match the size, depth, and location of a dent on a currentvehicle with a similar dent on a vehicle with a similar chassisconfiguration, make, model, and year of manufacture. For instance,consider a case where the vehicle in question is a new model that hasnot been analyzed before by server 101. In this scenario, server 101 mayattempt to match the vehicle currently being analyzed with its closestmatch, which in this case may be a similar model from the previous yearwith the same chassis configuration (e.g., a twin chassisconfiguration).

In matching a vehicle currently being analyzed with one that has beenpreviously analyzed, server 101 may assign a confidence factor to thematch. Server 101 may assign the highest confidence factor (e.g., aconfidence factor of 100%) to a comparison between the exact same typesof vehicles (e.g., cars of the same make, model, year of manufacture,etc.) having the exact same type of damage (e.g., a predetermined typeof dent, etc.). For instance, a comparison between vehicles with twocompletely different types of damage would have a confidence factor of0%. As the similarities between the currently analyzed vehicle andpreviously analyzed vehicles are reduced, server 101 may assign a lowerconfidence factor to the comparison. For instance, output drawn fromcomparisons between vehicles of the same make and model but withdifferent years of manufacture may be associated with a slightly lowerconfidence factor than 100%. In some aspects, confidence factors maydecrease further when vehicles of different models and years ofmanufacture (e.g., vehicles with different chassis configurations, trimline configurations, etc.) but the same make are compared. In oneembodiment, server 101 may assign a threshold confidence factor (e.g.,70%, etc.) below which output generated by a comparison performed byserver 101 may not be considered reliable. If the confidence factorassociated with a comparison between two vehicles falls below thisthreshold and there is no reliable comparison within the database,server 101 may then use physical details of the damage (e.g., size,location, area, etc.) to provide output such as a cost estimate fordamage repair/replacement and/or the amount of time required forrepair/replacement.

Server 101 may also use stored data to determine appropriate vendors forrepairing/replacing the vehicle and the amount of time forrepair/replacement. The wait time for repair/replacement may depend onvarious factors, including the size (e.g., area, depth, etc.),classification (e.g., turbulent dent, etc.), and location of the damage.

In addition, server 101 may determine if parts nearby to damaged partsmay also need to be blended into the damaged area. In other words, if apart of the vehicle needs to be refinished (e.g., repainted) eitherbecause it is being replaced or repaired, parts within a predetermineddistance of the repaired/replaced part may need to be blended (e.g.,color-matched) to the repaired/replaced part.

In some aspects, server 101 may acquire the knowledge of all previousclaims processed by server 101, as well as the knowledge of humanadjusters, to accurately process future claims. In this way, server 101may use machine learning to evolve its cost and/or repair estimationprocedure based on past experience.

To estimate the cost and repair/replacement time associated with thedamage to the vehicle and to determine whether to recommend that thevehicle be replaced or repaired, server 101 may also consider theextent/severity of the damage (area, depth, location, classification,etc.). For instance, damage to a character line (e.g., edge of a doorassociated with the vehicle) would be more difficult (e.g., moreexpensive and/or more time-consuming, etc.) to repair than damage to amore central location on the vehicle. Server 101 may also consider theactual cash value and the salvage value of the vehicle and any relevantlocal, state, and national laws in this analysis. In some aspects,server 101 may generate a rough cost estimate of repairing the damagejust based on the extent of the damage; then server 101 may refine thisestimate by analyzing previous cost estimates provided by server 101and/or actual repair data received from third party service providers(e.g., repair shops, etc.) that have repaired similar vehicles withsimilar damage. In additional aspects, server 101 may generate a basiccost estimate by taking into account factors such as the number of hourspredicted for the repair, the labor rate, and the current marketconditions. In this aspect, server 101 may compare this basic costestimate with the cost of merely replacing the vehicle (e.g., a totalloss) or the damaged part within the vehicle and based on thecomparison, server 101 may recommend the cheaper option. These estimatesmay also be transmitted to existing platforms (e.g., Audatex®,Mitchell®, etc.) for comparison purposes.

If the analyzed damage to the vehicle is different from the damageindicated by the claimant during the FNOL, server 101 may query theclaimant as to the discrepancy. For instance, if the claimant initiallyprovided information relating to damage on the left side of the vehiclebut server 101 discovers that the primary damage occurred on the rightside, server 101 may question the claimant as to when the damageoccurred (e.g., was the damage due to a previous incident or preexistingcondition?, is the claimant being truthful?, etc.). Server 101 may alsoask the claimant to sign a statement as to the truth of the informationprovided. The claimant may have the option of answering the questions asthey come up or the questions may be queued until the server 101 hasfinished processing the image/laser analysis of the vehicle. Ifdiscrepancies between the claimant's answers and the analyzed damage tothe vehicle continue to exist, server 101 may request the involvement ofa human claims adjuster.

The design of the analysis and processing facility managed by server 101may facilitate the size and shape of the insured item being analyzed.For instance, with a vehicle, the analysis facility may be shaped like acube or a box into which the vehicle may drive. In some aspects, sensorswithin the cube or box may indicate when the vehicle is in the correctposition for analysis and processing. In some embodiments, the analysisfacility may be mobile/portable such that the facility may betransported to the damaged vehicle. For instance, the analysis facilitymay be configured as a container that attaches to the motorized portionof a truck so that when the facility reaches the damaged vehicle, thevehicle may quickly enter the container for analysis. In this aspect,the facility may also serve to tow vehicles that are not drivable due totheir level of damage (e.g., for catastrophic damage, etc.). Inaddition, the analysis facility may have additional cameras and/ornetwork communications capabilities to allow a remotely-located adjusterto evaluate the performance of server 101.

In some aspects, the damage analysis and claims processing facilitymanaged by server 101 may be attached to an existing facility managed bythe entity (e.g., an insurance company, etc.) overseeing server 101. Inone example, this facility may serve as a completely autonomousresource; in other examples, this facility may serve as a permanentfacility monitored by claims adjusters to assist with processing claimsand damage analysis when the number of consumers needing servicesexceeds a predetermined threshold.

In additional aspects, the damage analysis and claims processingfacility managed by server 101 may be attached to other venues,including third party service providers (e.g., vehicle repair shops,other insurance agencies, etc.). In this aspect, the damage analysis andclaims processing facility managed by server 101 may also serve as asemi-permanent, stand-alone facility that replaces and/or augments thecapabilities of claims adjusters who rotate between multiple locations.

After server 101 analyzes and assesses the damage to the vehicle, theprocess shown in FIG. 3 may move to step 311 where the vehicle may berepaired/replaced at a third party service provider. Finally, theprocess may move to step 313 where a consumer may provide feedbackdesigned to evaluate his/her experience through process 300. Thisfeedback may be used to improve the process 300 for future consumers andmay involve the use of surveys, questionnaires, email, etc.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an example using an enhanced claimsprocessing server, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure. The example in FIG. 4 assumes that a car has been damaged inan accident to the point where it can no longer be driven. The processin FIG. 4 may start out at step 401 where a first notification of lossmay be transmitted to the enhanced claims processing server 101 from thescene of the accident. Assume that the driver (and in this case theowner) of the damaged car sends a text message with information abouthis location, details about the accident, and the claim number to server101.

Once the FNOL information reaches server 101, a mobile damage analysisand claims processing facility managed by server 101 may be transportedto the scene of the accident in step 403. The car may then be positionedin the facility to begin analysis of the damage in step 405. In thiscase, the car is loaded into the back of a truck housing the analysisand processing devices necessary for determining the nature of thedamage to the car.

The process may then move to step 407 where the server 101 may directcameras to image the entire car. From these images, the general locationof visible damage to the car may be determined. Assume that in thiscase, the car's front bumper and hood have been dented at severallocations and that no other damage exists. In this scenario, the processmay then move to step 409 where lasers may be directed to the dentedregions to determine the depth of the dents.

Once the morphology of the damage has been determined, server 101 maydetermine an approximate cost of repair, may generate a payment for thecost of repair, and may output the names and addresses of several repairshops that can handle the repair work in step 411. In this case, server101 may also make an appointment with one of the repair shops. Then, instep 413, the mobile damage analysis and claims processing facility maythen transport the car to the repair shop so that the owner may obtain arepaired car quickly.

The foregoing descriptions of the invention have been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. They are not exhaustive and donot limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings or may beacquired from practicing of the invention. For example, the describedimplementation includes software but the present invention may beimplemented as a combination of hardware and software or in hardwarealone. Additionally, although aspects of the present invention aredescribed as being stored in memory, one skilled in the art willappreciate that these aspects can also be stored on other types ofcomputer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like harddisks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM; a carrier wave from the Internet orother propagation medium; or other forms of RAM or ROM.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: directing, at a claimsprocessor associated with an enhanced claims processing server, aplurality of cameras to capture images of an insured item; determining,at the claims processor, at least one damaged area of the insured itemby applying an edge filter to the captured images of the insured itemand a reference image of another item of a same type as the insured itemand subtracting image data of the insured item from the reference imageof the other item of the same type as the insured item to isolate animage portion containing only damage to the insured item; furtherprocessing the image portion containing only the damage to the insureditem to fill any missing links in edges of the at least one damagedarea; based on the determination, capturing additional data of the atleast one damaged area, the additional data including raw depth data;mapping, based on the additional data and the further processed imageportion, a depth of damage to the at least one damaged area andidentifying, based on the mapping, a type of damage to the at least onedamaged area; and outputting, through a communication module associatedwith the enhanced claims processing server, damage information to aninsurance consumer associated with the insured item, the damageinformation including the depth of damage and type of damage.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the additional data is captured by at leastone laser.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one lasercommunicates with a laser processor to perform further imaging of the atleast one damaged area.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof cameras uses a controlled lighting environment for easier imaging. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing a plurality of imagesgenerated from the imaging in a data store associated with the enhancedclaims processing server.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone damaged area includes a plurality of dents.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein each of the plurality of dents belongs to a type chosen froma group consisting of: smooth dish, wrinkled, and turbulent.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: using the claims processor,directing a fluids processor associated with a fluid sensing device todetect a type of fluid leaking from the insured item to identify partsin the insured item that are damaged.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: using the claims processor, directing positioning of theinsured item.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofcameras communicates with a camera processor to perform imaging of theinsured item.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the outputting includesdisplaying the damage information on a second display associated withthe enhanced claims processing server.
 12. A claims processing systemcomprising: a claims processor configured to direct a camera processorassociated with a plurality of cameras to image an insured item, togenerate a reproduced image of the insured item via stitching togetherfirst images generated by the plurality of cameras, and to determine atleast one damaged area of the insured item based on the reproducedimage, the claims processor further configured to direct a laserprocessor associated with at least one laser to capture additional datato evaluate the at least one damaged area, the additional data includingraw depth data; the plurality of cameras configured to communicate withthe camera processor to generate the first images of the insured item;and the at least one laser configured to communicate with the laserprocessor to map a depth of damage to the at least one damaged area and,based on the mapping, identify a type of damage to the at least onedamaged area.
 13. The claims processing system of claim 12, wherein theclaims processor is further configured to query an insurance consumer,through a display device associated with the claims processor, aboutaccuracy of loss information related to the insured item.
 14. The claimsprocessing system of claim 12, wherein the claims processor is furtherconfigured to access, through the claims processing system, a databaseof reference images that depict undamaged items similar to the insureditem.
 15. The claims processing system of claim 14, wherein the claimsprocessor is further configured to compare the reference images to thefirst images to determine a severity of the at least one damaged area.16. The claims processing system of claim 15, wherein the comparinginvolves using blur filters and gray-scaling.
 17. The claims processingsystem of claim 15, wherein the claims processor is further configuredto assign a confidence factor to the comparison based on how similar thereference images in the database are to the first images.
 18. The claimsprocessing system of claim 12, wherein the claims processor is furtherconfigured to access a database storing cost estimate information forrepairing other items similar to the insured item and with damagesimilar to the at least one damaged area to determine a new costestimate for repairing the insured item.
 19. An apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and a memory storing computer-readable instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus at least to: directa plurality of cameras to generate a plurality of first images of aninsured vehicle; access a first database storing a plurality ofreference images depicting undamaged vehicles similar to the insuredvehicle; compare the plurality of first images to the plurality ofreference images to determine at least one damaged area on the insuredvehicle; based on the determination, capture additional data of the atleast one damaged area to evaluate the at least one damaged area, theadditional data including raw depth data; map, based on the additionaldata, a depth of damage to the at least one damaged area and identify,based on the mapping, a type of damage to the at least one damaged area;access a second database storing repair cost information for othervehicles similar to the insured vehicle that have similar damage to theinsured vehicle; determine a confidence factor for the repair costinformation based on a similarity between the other vehicles and theinsured vehicle; and using the repair cost information, the depth ofdamage and type of damage, and the confidence factor, generate a costestimate for repairing the at least one damaged area of the insuredvehicle and a list of service providers for performing the repair. 20.The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus is further caused toreceive, through an input communication module, a notice of lossassociated with the insured vehicle.